Exit row question
 

Have a flight scheduled in a couple of months to Hawaii.......used FF miles to book our tickets. Husband has reserved/picked our seats in the Exit Row....I have heard so many horror stories about getting Exit Row, my question....

How likely are we to actually have the seats reserved when we get to the airport? Hubby has printed out itinerary information with the exit rows showing as our seat location.

I'm just worried that we will be moved from those seats.

Does it help that hubby is a million miler?

Thanks

should add, this is with Delta

You didn't mention the airline, but in most cases if he was <b>able</b> to reserve it the seats are yours.

There is a slight chance of loosing the seat assignment.

1.Equipment change at the last minute
2.Either you or hubby are not able to physically operate the exit door in case of an emergency.


Have a great trip!

If you have those seats assigned to you, then they are yours to keep. No reason why you won't get them, and no reason why you will be removed unless either one of you is incapable of operating the doors and/or incapable to following instructions from the flight attendants.

On most airlines, those seats can only be assigned ahead for the highest level of FF member, which your husband apparent is. Other passengers can only try to get them at check-in, or online check-in.

As for whether your seats are good or bad, seatguru.com has comments about them. They can be good, they can be bad.

While I have to pretty much agree with AAFrequentFlyer that the odds are you'll get your assigned seats there is always a chance they could be changed. For example I have Platinum status on AA and have well over 1 million miles - about 2 months ago I booked 2 seats on a DFW to MIA flight on a 777 and I got seat assignments in the &quot;business class&quot; section (no actual Business Class service on this flight) 10A (window) and 10B (aisle). For several weeks thereafter everytime I checked my reservation status our seats remained the same. Five days before the flight I noticed we had been moved to the center seating area in 12 D (aisle) and 12E (center). I couldn't change back to 10A&amp;10B as all the &quot;business seats&quot; were occupied. Point is, while you generally get your assigned seats there are never any guarantees.

Thank you all for the quick response. My husband tells me I worry too much. I just don't like surprises of this nature (losing my assigned seat)

While I know it could still happen, hopefully it will not. This is our third trip to Hawaii, but only our first in coach............hubby decided (since their his miles) that Delta wanted way too many for First. insert rolleyes here :)

One other question.......don't laugh, will they test my strength before they allow me to sit in the exit row? Do I need to lift weights, prior to my trip? LOL

thanks

janiebelle - I know you're just joking, but the regular doors on planes don't take too much force to open. However, the overwing &quot;plugs&quot; on some planes (like 737s, some 757s and A320) which are not hinged, and they weigh like 40lb.

That's the reason why I won't get my parents exit row seats on those planes, even if they are available to them.

While seat reservations are very rarely not honored, I think a common clause in the contract of carriage is that there is no guarantee that seat reservations will be honored.

I think it is not uncommon that a passenger will show up with some condition that requires accomodation (most frequently, I think, people are bumped from bulkhead or aisle seats in favor of a passenger with a casted leg), so the gate agent has authority to change assigned seats, and I think a flight attendant has the same authority.

You can probably find the contract of carriage buried somewhere on Delta's website, if you really want to check.

My wife and I fly fairly frequently and have never had our seat reservations dishonored, but I have seen a supposedly grown man throwing a temper tantrum because his seat was changed.

Unless you have an obvious disability, I wouldn't worry about being moved from the exit row because someone thinks you can't handle it. I was given an exit row seat on a walk-up fare on Delta last week, even though I actually limped up to the counter. I didn't realized it was an exit row until I boarded. I asked the FA to switch me, as I knew that my leg injury would make me a problem in the event of an emergency. And, in all honesty, I have short legs so an exit row is wasted on me. The 6 foot + guy who wound up with that seat sure did appreciate it.

This does not apply to the original poster but does apply to the topic. I have seen people on an Air Canada flight being moved from exit row because they did not understand English or French. The flight attendant had some trouble getting them to move because there was no common language. On the other side of the coin I was recently in an exit row on a SkyEurope flight from Krakow to Rome. The instructions on the door were in five languages. English was not one of them. The seat pocket card had English but the pictures did not correspond to what I was seeing on the door. I asked a flight attendant about it expecting to get a quick rundown on the door's operation. Her response was don't worry about it you won't need to use it! She was right. My next flight was on BMI from Naples to Heathrow, also in exit row. There was a laminated sheet of paper with door instruction given in great detail but in English only.

A reservation on a plane does NOT gurantee you the seat of your choice. So yes, you could be moved. However it sounds like husband is a FF which actually makes movement less likely.

As a top tier FF member, any move will likely be to the front cabin. Don't worry.

I had an exit row seat one time and the seat did not recline because it was an exit row seat. The flight was full and I was stuck with it. I would ask the airline if the exit row seats recline.

I thought it was usually the seats in front of the exit row that didn't recline, because it would limit the space available for exiting. On some planes, though, there are two exit rows in a row, so the first exit row would not recline in that particular case.

Actually you are right. It was the seat in front of the exit row. Thanks for the reminder as I will be flying from ATL to HNL in Nov. I believe I am in the row ahead of the exit row. Will change that now.
Thanks!

annikany - Go to seatguru.com and look up the chart for Delta's 767-400 for seat information.

rkkwan - thanks. I'll check it out.